Perfect Wine Weekend in Dahlonega

Only an hour outside of Atlanta, Dahlonega has everything you need for a nice little weekend getaway. Beautiful scenery, good food, and great wine (especially the bubbly). I just went for a couple of days so I’ll share with you my recommendations for a fun visit.

Where to Stay

My top choice on where to stay is one of the cottages at Kaya Vineyard and Winery. They are right there on the winery property and are super cute. These were booked when I went though so we stayed at their sister property, Dahlonega Resort and Vineyard. They have 2 options, you can stay in a room inside the main Inn or in a cabin, which is more private and a short walk to the main Inn with its amazing view.

We chose the cabin because it was more quiet. I have stayed in the Inn though and it’s nice but I will caution that the walls are thin so if you are a light sleeper I wouldn’t recommend these. The cabins are clean, spacious and have a full kitchen. Also the cabins are perfect for a weekend with girlfriends or couples!

My Weekend Lineup

Friday-

Dinner on the Square

Checked into our cabin (contact free check-ins) which was great and so easy. Then we drove into downtown Dahlonega, which is an easy 15 minute drive. We walked around and went into a few shops like the General Store – it has everything you can imagine if you want to bring home a souvenir.

Then we had dinner at 19 Degrees North Seafood & Grill, which I highly recommend. We had the fried calamari and banana pepper rings with a red pepper aioli and shrimp & oyster Po Boys and the food was delicious. The cocktails hit the spot as well – they have a great menu of “beach” type drinks like the Bahama Mama and Pineapple Coconut Martini.

For dessert we grabbed ice cream cones at Connie’s Ice Cream Parlor. It’s Mayfield ice cream and my Strawberry Cheesecake cone was a perfect ending to a summer night.

Saturday-

Breakfast Biscuits!

Started the day with breakfast which we had at Farmhouse Produce. This is a BBQ restaurant but let me tell you, their breakfast biscuits are out of this world good! I went a little overboard with my order as you can see but it was a great way to start a day of wine tasting.

Montaluce Winery

Next, we went to Montaluce Winery. Be prepared for beautiful views.

They have a full restaurant and their food is good so you can make reservations for brunch, lunch or dinner. You can just show up if all you want is to grab a glass of wine but if you want to do a tasting, reservations are highly encouraged.

Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery

Our next stop was Wolf Mountain Vineyards & Winery. I love Wolf Mountain! It’s so pretty and their food is just fantastic. They aren’t currently doing the weekend brunch that they are well-known for because of Covid-19 but they are serving food. Make a reservation if possible. We had lunch there and a glass of wine. I had the summer salad with grilled chicken which was so good. After that we went back to our cabin to drop off the car and get ready for the our eagerly anticipated final stop.

Kaya Vineyard and Winery

Now, prior to Covid, there was a shuttle that went back and forth between Kaya Vineyard and Winery and Dahlonega Resort & Vineyard. It has ceased for the time being but there are two cab companies that can take you there. We called Pop’s Taxi and the driver picked us up within 20 minutes, it was a $10 ride to Kaya which is 5 minutes away. That is WAY cheaper than a DUI friends and trust me, there are cops up there just waiting to pull folks over.

We ended our day of wine in the best way at the stunning Kaya Vineyard and Winery.

Kaya really pulled out all of the stops for us. We had the pleasure of getting a private tour by the owner Bill Werkheiser! He told us the story of how he purchased the winery and made it what it is today. We also got to do a Barrel and Tank Tasting. This is an exclusive tasting you can do in their barrel and bottling room below the tasting room. You get to try 5 wines that haven’t been released yet and tour the bottling facilities. It’s a great experience. Note that to do this special tasting you must have between 4-8 people in your party and that it’s $50 per person.

After the tasting, Bill told us to come outside. We were very surprised to see 2 ATV’s there. We got in one and followed him on a tour of the entire vineyard!

This was definitely the highlight of our visit and the weekend! Such a cool experience and to see the stunning vineyards and winery from the top of a hill…so awesome!!

They also have live music most weekends and we enjoyed that as we “wined” down after the ATV’s. Of course, we had to hit the gift shop and also grabbed some bottles of their special releases to take home. Kaya is hospitality at its best.

A special thank you to Bill and his amazing team at Kaya who showed us the best time!

Sunday-

Breakfast at the cute Picnic Café, also on the main town square, and then we went on a hike. Amicalola Falls is close by and the perfect place to walk off all of the wine, cheese, and breakfast biscuits from your weekend. Haha! We had the best time and are already planning another visit back with friends.

If you end up going, stay safe and stay bubbly!